Less than a minute and a half after a Springfield goal, Syracuse found an answer.

The Mike Blunden tip-in on a Luke Witkowski point shot cut the Falcons' lead to one but penalties limited the Crunch's opportunities to tie the game, as Syracuse fell to Springfield, 3-1, in the season opener at the Onondaga County War Memorial Saturday.

"We were hurt offensively because we had to kill eight penalties," said Crunch coach Rob Zettler. "We were undisciplined, and that in the end was the difference. When we tried to play 5-on-5 and play our game, we were starting to get chances. Then people take bad penalties and took away our momentum. We wasted a lot of energy killing those penalties."

Syracuse nearly tied the game late at 2-2 when a Jonathan Marchessault goal was disallowed. Bolt Prospects Alumni Ryan Craig then twisted the knife with an empty netter to seal it for Springfield. Fellow Bolt Prospects Alumni Dana Tyrell also had a helper in the contest to stick it to his old organization.

Nearly six months have passed since the last Syracuse Crunch regular season game.

One season removed from a Calder Cup playoff run that lasted well into June, the offseason began after the final horn at the Onondaga County War Memorial April 19. For Crunch coach Rob Zettler, who coached in the 2013 finals and spent the bulk of the ensuing offseason hiring a new coaching staff, the extended summer gave him time to reflect.

"This year it was too much time," Zettler said. "A lot of time to think about it."